Milisa Burns 5/12/23 Milisa Burns 5/12/23

Bragging Rights: How to Talk about your Work Using Purposeful Self-Promotion

I'm still glowing from all the amazing conversations at last Thursday's launch of the transformational book Bragging Rights: How to Talk about your Work Using Purposeful Self-Promotion by Lisa Bragg.

Milisa Burns 3/9/23 Milisa Burns 3/9/23

International Women’s Day - Empowering & Galvanizing

That we women need help gathering our strength again is an equity issue. That we are willing to ask for and co-create this support is a sign of our already existing strength. However, we are actually even stronger. And we need help gathering that strength back in. It's more than time.

We've been shamed, denied, gaslit, crushed by others, by society and most devastatingly, by our own selves. Why? Because we've absorbed the harmful myths of a society steeped in the toxicity of patriarchy. This has been going on for more than 2,000 years!

Milisa Burns 12/22/21 Milisa Burns 12/22/21

Pareto's 80 - 20 Principle - A Slight Twist

I wanted to share one thing I’m celebrating, hoping it’s meaningful and maybe helpful to you too, during what can be a very overwhelming time of year even without the Pandemic.

Milisa Burns 10/19/21 Milisa Burns 10/19/21

How Are You at Apologizing (or Not)?

Inspired by Harriet Lerner's recent book Why Won't You Apologize? Healing Big Betrayals and Everyday Hurts, I've been thinking a lot about apologizing lately and how I can be better at it.

Milisa Burns 3/8/20 Milisa Burns 3/8/20

Happy International Women's Day!

I thought something fun might be in order today as we celebrate International Women's Day, so wanted to share this quick story.

Milisa Burns 9/12/19 Milisa Burns 9/12/19

Did You Know Personal Courage Cannot Exist Without Fear?

The Latin root of "courage" is cor, which mean "heart". So, at the centre of personal courage is the heart. To be personally courageous means, by definition, that we are fearful but act anyway from our heart. This type of courage does not exist without fear. This is how I experience personal courage.

Milisa Burns 6/10/19 Milisa Burns 6/10/19

Seize the Summer!

Seizing the Summer may not be about the hammock for you. And Seizing the Summer is not necessarily about planning a big exciting trip, or some other splashy event, either, though those can be very fun. Seizing the Summer is about what would be really meaningful for you.

Milisa Burns 10/27/16 Milisa Burns 10/27/16

Ann Patchett – Present and Powerful!

Recently, I had the good fortune to be invited by my friend Isabelle to go see Ann Patchett being interviewed at the Toronto Reference Library. Ann Patchett is on tour for her latest novel, Commonwealth. I have read several of her novels over the years (including Bel Canto, Run and State of Wonder) and really enjoyed them.

Milisa Burns 10/2/15 Milisa Burns 10/2/15

AHA! Work-Life Synergy!

I had an epiphany on my yoga mat recently that I would love to tell you about, but first a quick back-story. This summer, I was sharing with my coach that I couldn’t name the kind of coach that I am. I have never felt like a life coach, or a career coach, a leadership or an executive coach, though many aspects of each resonate with me and are reflected in my coaching.

Milisa Burns 5/1/15 Milisa Burns 5/1/15

9 Tips to Prevent Burnout – Voices of Experience

Nine terrific, and it turned out, very generous and experienced women, joined me as I hosted the lunch and workshop: Three Common Mistakes Professional Women Make that Keep Them Feeling Exhausted and Overwhelmed. The group’s discussion became especially engaged around the subject of burnout.

Milisa Burns 8/30/13 Milisa Burns 8/30/13

What Are Your Keystone Habits?

Are you a creature of habit, of carefully crafted rituals and routines meant to help you function at your best? When those habits are not as achievable as usual, do you feel like a fish out of water, struggling to breathe? Does this situation often make you feel stuck and frustrated?

Milisa Burns 5/10/13 Milisa Burns 5/10/13

Words from the Wise: Marriage and Parenting

Some of you may already have read my earlier post: DD is 100 Years Old Today! What's her Secret?, about my maternal grandmother, Mildred Maclean (aka, to her grandchildren and many others, "DD"). I wrote it for her 100th birthday on March 8, 2011. She is now 102! She is slowing down but is still very engaged in the world.

Milisa Burns 3/31/13 Milisa Burns 3/31/13

Where's Our Passion?

Have you ever yearned to find more passion, or even some passion, in your work? Reading Lean In: Women, Work and The Will To Lead by Sheryl Sandberg over March Break made me remember an experience when I so strongly felt that yearning.

Milisa Burns 9/14/12 Milisa Burns 9/14/12

Take Your Exercise!

As professional women, we tend to be in our heads a lot - analyzing, judging, sorting, drafting, calculating. Lots of left side of the brain stuff. It is quite easy to begin to neglect our bodies when we are so in our heads. However, in doing so, we are really cheating ourselves.

Milisa Burns 1/26/12 Milisa Burns 1/26/12

Lessons of a 20-Something Year Old

To start of this year of blogging I thought you might enjoy Michele Wong's inspiring story below. I met Michele last November at a Young Women In Law Charity Gala which was held to raise money for the Belinda Stronach Foundation.

Milisa Burns 12/8/11 Milisa Burns 12/8/11

Focus on Focusing and Feel Fantastic!

I am sitting here at home on this wet, grey December Monday morning, feeling a little unfocused. This is ironic, given that I really want to write about mental energy and how focusing mentally can help us manage our mental energy. However, as I write this I realize, maybe this is just what I need!

Milisa Burns 11/16/11 Milisa Burns 11/16/11

Do You Have Worry Cup or A Cup of Concern?

This post explores "worry" versus "concern" and connects these ideas with exciting research on positive emotions. Remember, I have been loosely exploring managing our energy not our time since the summer and this post fits with managing our emotional energy.

Milisa Burns 9/15/11 Milisa Burns 9/15/11

Help - I am on a Roller Coaster!

Since my last post my family and I have been immersed in back to school logistics and excitement. Last week, when the kids went back to school, felt like a roller coaster ride to me, both physically and emotionally. Taking a totally unscientific poll of other parents last week, I can safely say I was not alone!

Milisa Burns 8/25/11 Milisa Burns 8/25/11

Ah, Sweet Slumber - What's Your Favourite Bedtime Routine?

Ah, sweet slumber... sometimes it's so elusive, isn't it? When is the last time you had a really good night's sleep, one where you woke up and felt well rested and energetic? The kind of sleep where the last thing you remember is dropping your head on the pillow. A deep "dreamless" sleep.

Milisa Burns 1/31/11 Milisa Burns 1/31/11

Being the Bamboo – A Story from the 2010 ICF Conference

As I mentioned in two posts ago, I was in Texas in October for an amazing experience at the International Coach Federation annual conference. Here is another story out of that experience.

Free Grounding, Centering, Empowering Practices